'We can't have enough cycling art in Boulder'

By Joe Rubino Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
12/28/2013 06:15:03 PM MST

Updated:
12/28/2013 06:18:20 PM MST

Boulder agreed to erect a permanent monument to stage six of the Pro Cycling Challenge. Earlier this month that monument--a four piece steel ribbon-like bike rack--was put in place near the Boulder transit center.
(
Cliff Grassmick
)

Among the stipulations Boulder agreed to when it signed on to host the stage 6 finish of the 2012 U.S. Pro Cycling Challenge was the installation of a permanent, local monument to the race.

Crews helped fulfill that obligation earlier this month when they finished bolting down the four pieces that make up the space-age, white sculpture/bike rack that now resides on the northwest corner of Walnut and 14th Streets.

The piece, created by local environmental designer Michelle Lee, is composed of half-inch thick pieces of steel that have been rolled into shape and coated with a specialty, solid-surface material called Corian. The inspiration for its wavy form, Lee said, is the vision of cyclists taking curves on their course through the foothills west of Boulder during the Aug. 25, 2012 Pro Cycling Challenge stage, dubbed by organizers at the time as the "biggest day in American pro cycling history."

"It sort of embodies the motion of a cyclists on the road and all the hill climbs," Lee said. "Basically, I was just trying to get a shape that evoked more of a feeling and fluidity. It's four pieces that look like one continuous shape."

Lee said she was also excited to employ Corian, a material created by DuPont typically used for kitchen countertops.

"I had seen a few videos and talked to a few fabricators about heating it up and bending it and being able to do some unique things with it," she said, noting she worked with a handful of fabricators to complete the piece. "I really wanted to test this material outside. I'm happy with the way it turned out, where it's located, and that you can lock bikes up to it."

The location was picked in part because of its proximity to the downtown Boulder bus station, according to Ashlee Herring, spokeswoman and events coordinator for the city's downtown and University Hill management division. As a bike rack, officials felt it fit with the theme of car-free transportation.

"They liked the way it kind of tied together," Herring said, noting that some staff from her department, officials from the public works department and Lee were consulted on the monument's placement.

"We are excited to have the opportunity to have the bike rack incorporated in the city and be able to commemorate the Pro Cycling Challenge," Herring said.

Boulder City Councilman Andrew Shoemaker served as co-chair of the local organizing committee for the race in 2012. He called the monument "great" and said he is hopeful more art like it will be added to the city's public collection in the future.

"It's something that celebrates the race and celebrates the city of Boulder," Shoemaker said. "In my view we can't have enough cycling art in Boulder. "

"I hope in the years to come that we'll see more pieces like that not only relating to the Pro Cycling Challenge but also Boulder's position in the world when it comes to cycling, whether it's racing, whether it's commuting or whether it's bike culture."

In 2008, Lee and a fellow designer took part in a similar public art contest in which they submitted the winning design for a bus shelter that celebrated the musical history of Athens, Ga.

She submitted her design for the Boulder monument over a year ago, her first time entering such a contest by herself.

"I was happy with getting through the whole process on my own and finding fabricators in our area I can work with," she said. "It was a long process for such a small art piece so I was glad to see it through to the end."

Lee said she has long enjoyed riding her bike, and even competed in some triathlons between 2004 and 2006. She took in stage 6 from various places around downtown Boulder in 2012, she said, catching glimpses of the riders as they rode through the area and watching much of the action that took place west of the city on the large video screens on Pearl Street.

She said she is excited that the race will be returning this year when Boulder hosts the start of the Challenge's seventh and final stage, after the city did not host a stage in 2013.

"Cycling is such a culture in Boulder it's kind of sad when it's not here in a way," she said.

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